


The Avengers Self-Help Group

by RippedApart



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Nightmares, Steve Rogers Needs a Hug, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony does too
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-21
Updated: 2017-11-29
Packaged: 2019-01-21 00:16:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,705
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12445134
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RippedApart/pseuds/RippedApart
Summary: Steve has a nightmare and goes to Tonys lab for some late night company.They start the Avenger Self-Help Group.(Will telling each other about their issues help them grow closer or will it rip them further apart?)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, so this is my first work on here, I wanted to make some Steve/Tony pwp, but then I decided to add some story and I never got to the "good" parts, I will probably continue this, but I'd love some feedback. And it's not really beta-read (well I checked for mistakes, but I doubt I caught them all) and I dunno how html works.  
> Also, in this story, Steve thinks Tony doesn't like him and Tony is not sure what Steve thinks about him, so I guess it'll be some character development before we get to the juicy parts if I continue this and I'm rambling so I'll just post, hope you enjoy. ^^

Steve knew, rationally, that entering Tony’s workshop in the middle of the night was not his best idea, but after his latest nightmare, waking up sweating, shivering and longing for a friend long lost, he needed the comfort of another human being. Even if said human being probably hated him – like any other authorative figure in his life, really.

That was, if he even made it past Jarvis, who told him multiple times that he had no access to the workshop at the moment. Steve hoped that maybe Tony would allow him in if he saw him, because no matter what Tony like to have people believe, he would never let someone in distress on their own. As such, Steve clutched his sketchbook and pens as he made his way from the elevator to the door of the lab. From the way the genius was currently waving dismissively, he was probably discussing one thing or the other with Jarvis, maybe the project he was currently working on, maybe something else entirely, who knew what was going on inside the engineers’ mind…

Steve took a deep breath and knocked on the glass wall, fully aware of the fact that Tony couldn’t hear it, but trusting Jarvis to relay the message anyway. He wasn’t disappointed as one Tony Stark suddenly minimized whatever he had been working on, before artfully turning in his chair to have a look at his surprise midnight visitor. His eyes widened slightly as they took him in, dishevelled, still slightly sweaty with dark circles under his eyes and an uncanny pallor to his skin – well, more than usual anyway – clutching at his sketchbook like his life depended on it. Yeah, he looked pretty pitiful and desperate for a grown man, and a soldier at that, but what can you do? You don’t get to pick your dreams. Or nightmare as you would usually call them.

Tony said something, and the door slid open, a wall of loud music suddenly hitting the soldier. With another command to Jarvis, the music was cut, leaving them staring at each other in the sudden silence.

“Uhm… Would it be alright if I steal one of your couches? Maybe? You can say no, this isn’t the captain talking, just me”, Steve mumbled, dropping his head, feeling ashamed at his need for reassurance. He knew he was being stupid, but he really didn’t want to impose on Tony, knowing full well the man didn’t exactly enjoy his company – super hearing and all – and actually surprised he had opened the door.

Tony looked at him, obviously startled by his subdued attitude, now looking at him worriedly.

“Uh, yeah, sure, make yourself comfy over there, just keep your hands to yourself, don’t want the lab to blow up or something. Oh and no sketching anything that’s lying around, some of that stuff is… ‘top secret’” – you could feel the air quotes – “SHIELD stuff”, Tony waved at his small lounge area. “And no stealing my coffee, go make your own”, he added, as an afterthought, while already turning back to his work. “Jarvis, mind putting on something… relaxing for the Cap here? I doubt he would enjoy my usual playlist.”

Steve was left standing at the door, free to do whatever he wanted unless it included top-secret projects or coffee. He had to admit this went way better than he expected. The blond shuffled over to the couch, still clutching his sketchbook and let himself fall on his side in a tight ball. He didn’t want to fall back asleep, but neither did he feel like sketching, and the music was an obvious sign Tony wasn’t up for a chat – which, let’s face it, would probably end up in an argument anyway.

As such, the captain ended up watching Tony work, relaxing bit by bit. Noticing, at some point, that Tony’s cup of coffee was almost empty, he finally got himself to move, trudging over to the small kitchenette to make Tony a refill, while heating some milk for himself. Instead of checking every cabinet for mugs and, in doing so, annoying the genius allowing him sanctuary, Steve whisper-asked Jarvis for help.

“They are in the upper left cabinet, Captain”, Jarvis whispered back – well as much as it was possible for an AI to whisper, which was surprisingly successful in Steve’s opinion. Steve almost excepted to see someone standing behind him when he turned around with the mugs in hands.

Pouring the coffee in one, and the milk in the other, he made his way to Tony’s desk, setting down the new mug before picking up the old one.

“You look like you could use some more coffee, I hope you don’t mind me taking the liberty of making you some”, the blonde said, trudging back to the kitchen with Tony’s empty mug, before making his way back to the couch.

“Woah, didn’t except that”, the genius said, positively surprised. “You know, you don’t have to become my personal maid just because I’m letting you stay here for the night. I couldn’t exactly leave you standing out there with the whole ghost look you were sporting”, Tony supplied, casting him a sidelong glance. “You better now?”, he asked, in a much softer tone, almost caring – who would’ve thought Tony Stark may have some level of empathy?

“Yeah, a lot. Thanks for letting me in here, I don’t think I could’ve taken a no in that moment”, Steve answered, voice breaking.

“Well, you did look pretty bad… Almost worse than I do when I actually try to sleep…”, Tony said, with no small amount of self-humour. “You want to talk about it?” he added, again in a voice you’d never have believed he could have.

Steve looked at Tony in disbelief. The number one ‘I don’t give a shit’-guy was worried and willing to offer an ear? That was unheard of. But then again, it was also well known that Tony had a list of issues as long as Jarvis’ code.

“I talk if you talk, how’s that sound?”, Steve tried. He wasn’t going to abuse Tonys kindness. If the genius was willing to lend him an ear, then he was willing to offer his in return. “Or, well… You don’t have to, just… I’m here if you need someone to talk to, alright?”  
Tony hummed, turning back to work.

“Are we setting up a self-help group then?”, he asked, chuckling.

“When you put it that way…”, Steve said, actually considering the option and offering Tony his first smile of the evening. “So… Want me to start?” he added, grabbing his sketchbook for comfort, flipping it open to an empty page.

“Go ahead, Cap, my ears are all yours”, the genius said, waving a hand for Jarvis to stop the music. “Just… spare me all the tiny little details we both know you love putting in your reports, I am trying to get some work done after all. You can’t hog my genius brain all to yourself.”

Steve looked up just in time to catch Tony flashing him a grin and a wink.  
_This might actually work_ , the captain thought to himself, smiling lightly at his sketchbook.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes Tony tries to sleep. It usually doesn't go very well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my, I actually wrote a sequel! I wasn't sure where I was going with this chapter, they might be a bit OOC, I dunno. I think that's gonna be the end of this small series, unless someone really really wants a sequel, I was talking about it with a friend, he said he'd be in for the ride if I did, but I'm not sure I can really continue this, unless I add more characters, and I'd only feel comfortable about writing Peter, I'm not sure enough about the others, maybe Banner, but I'm not sure he'd need to be here, you know? Anyway, I'll stop rambling, enjoy ^^

Over time, Steve started to spend more and more evenings in Tony’s workshop, welcoming their simple arrangement to listen to the other. Most evenings, they would just spend in quiet, Tony blasting his music through the workshop while working on some thing or other, and Steve sketching around, sometimes bringing his paints with him, to transform one of his sketches into a full piece of art. Therefore, Steve was surprised when the workshop was abandoned when he got down, on a quiet Wednesday evening, knowing that Tony had meant to stay at the tower to work on one of his suits, that had taken some damage in Dooms latest attack – who, of course, had epically failed once again.

Jarvis, being the ever-helpful AI that he was, answered his silent question instantly. “Sir has decided to try to get some sleep, after Pepper threatened to take away his coffee maker if he didn’t go to bed”, Jarvis said, sounding exasperated with his creators’ antics. “I’m sure it won’t be long until he is back down here”, he added as an afterthought.

Trusting Jarvis to know Tony’s habits, Steve sat himself down on what the genius had dubbed ‘the Capsicle couch’ and opened the big box with his watercolours. He was currently working on a painting of the skyline of ‘his’ New-York, trusting his memories to provide all the details, unwilling to look at pictures from the time.  
The captain had been painting for less than an hour when Tony stumbled into the lab, looking utterly drained. He didn’t even notice Steve as he made a beeline to his kitchenette, grabbing the first bottle of alcohol he came across.

“Sir? I don’t- “, started Jarvis, only to be interrupted by Tony.

“Shut up Jarvis, I’ll drink if I want to, you can’t make me stop and you can’t except me not to after what just happened. You know there’s only one way to make this better and it includes alcohol, loud music and a new project file.” the genius snapped, opening what seemed to be an empty file – Steve really didn’t know much about Tony’s working system.

“You know”, Steve said, leaning back against the couch after putting down his brush, “Jarvis may not be able to stop you, but I am. And I will, if you don’t put down the bottle.”

Tony let out a surprised squawk, almost dropping his bottle in the process.

“I didn’t ask for your opinion, Cap, and I think we agreed not to judge each other. Because there’s a lot I could say to you about your habits”, Tony snapped, quickly recovering from the shock of having someone else in his workshop. “Also, Jarvis, I thought I had told you not to let anyone in here when I’m not here. Why is he here?” he asked, sounding betrayed.

“You had a special agreement with the Captain, Sir, and I only kept to it, as it did not include any such regulations.” the AI answered, sounding just a tad bit annoyed.

Tony made a show of sighing, setting down the bottle and manually turning up the music, not trusting Jarvis to do as he was told right now. He didn’t try to keep the bottle as the Captain took it back to the kitchen and replaced it with a coffee.

“What happened?” he asked, as he got himself a cup of chocolate, not too keen on drinking coffee at this time of the night.

Tony ignored the question in favour of his coffee, draining half the cup in one go, ignoring the way it burnt his throat. The engineer turned to his empty file and started working, though what it was he was working on was anyone’s guess. Steve didn’t push for an answer, knowing Tony would just snap at him and possibly kick him out of the lab if he tried to force him into talking. So, he simply went back to his painting, staying quiet and offering Tony a chance to calm down. Whatever had happened had clearly upset him. Steve knew Tony was trying to stay away from alcohol – well, they kind of excepted it of him – so it came as a shock to see that he still had drinks stashed away down here. They should’ve known though, this was the one place they didn’t search, as that would have broken the trust he put into them, by letting them stay here. Almost no one was allowed into his workshop, and those who were wouldn’t give that up for a couple of bottles of alcohol.

“Do the nightmares… Are they memories for you? Or are they… fears you have?”, Tony whispered, breaking the silence at last.  
Steve didn’t look up from his painting.

“It depends. Some days they are memories, others they’re fears. I hate cold days, they remind me of the ice”, he sighed, answering truthfully, hoping Tony would return the favour.

“You never show it…”, Tony sounded surprised, Steve understood why. No one would guess the cold really bothered him, unless they knew him from way back – and there weren’t that many who could claim that left. “Sometimes, I just… I dream of Afghanistan. It’s always so real, and I think about what would’ve happened if I hadn’t made it back… How many more would Obi- Obadiah Stane have killed if I hadn’t made it back. How long had he been using me? Had he been planning this ever since my parents died? Had this been going on long before that already? Had he-”

“Tony.” Steve said, grabbing the engineers’ hands and pulling them away from the arc reactor. “Tony, stop! You’re hurting yourself. It wasn’t your fault. You couldn’t have known, you never thought to check because you trusted him, like everyone would have, if they had been in your position. I know I would’ve. The only person you can blame is Stane. He is responsible for the deaths of innocents, he sold those weapons. Not the person who designed the weapons. Do we put the blame for every car accident on the people who invented the car? No. And you know why that is? Because it wasn’t invented with the intent to hurt innocents. How people use it is a whole other matter. Everyone makes choices and they are the only one you can blame for what happens because of it. You’re a better, stronger person now, then you were then. And I know you hate designing stuff for SHIELD, but you do it, because you trust them to use it the right way. Tony, you never meant for those people to die, and that alone makes you a good person.” Steve let go of Tony’s hands, backing away. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to lecture you. I just wanted you to know that you are a good person, no matter what anyone says.”

Tony plopped down on his chair, looking stunned.

“I-… You-… This is not the first time you thought this, was it? This was too well planned for that… Is this-… It is… You were meant to protect people… Every death hits you so hard, but you always try to help, you never give up, because doing so would be going against your purpose, wouldn’t it? God, no wonder you’re so strung up… You know, there’s no way you can save them all… That’s just how it is.” He whispered, looking at his hands like he had never seen them.

Steve didn’t answer, he just picked up one of his sketchbooks and flipped through it, looking for something, or just ignoring him, Tony didn’t know, until the sketchbook was put down in front of him. The page showed a drawing of him and Dummy, he was smiling fondly at the robot, who looked sheepish, with a broken cup on the floor between them, the arc reactor the only colour in the drawing, illuminating the whole scene in tones of blue. Tony forced back the tears, stroking his fingers slowly over the drawing, along Dummy’s arm.

“This is who you are Tony. Someone who cares too much for everyone. Someone who lost so much but is still standing, still fighting for the people he cares about, even if they are robots he created himself. You have a big heart Tony, you just suck at showing it.” The captain said softly, a small smile tugging at his lips.

“Way to ruin the moment, Cap.” The genius snarked through the tears he finally let flow. “Time to get back to what we were originally doing. I might need some input for this, do you mind?” he added, finally looking up from the drawing, straight into Steve’s eyes.  
Steve nodded.

“Just ask when you need me, I still have a painting to finish”

Tony leaned back in his chair, turning to his open project.  
“Jarvis, scratch that stuff, open new file: NOS. Pull up the schematics for Dummy, You and Butterfinger.” He grinned. “Time to make you guys a new brother!  
 _This isn’t so bad after all_ , Tony concluded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and comments would be great :3

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you liked it, please consider giving me some feedback, I'm not sure if I will continue this, maybe it's better if I left it that way, you tell me ^^ for now I'll leave that marked as complete, until I decide if I'll continue, I think it works as a one-shot.


End file.
